Aggressive behaviors and reduced egg laying

Pohead2

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Help!! I have 4 Rhode Island Reds that are approximately 7 months old. They free-ranged until 3 weeks ago when they got out and visited the next door neighbor’s chickens. The neighbor put them in his coop with bantams and a young rooster. Their diet changed from my layer pellets to table scraps. A week passed before I figured out where they were and brought them home.
They now live in a completely enclosed coop and run (an enclosed carport) and I do not let them free range. They are drinking water all of the time and are constantly running along the chicken netting from one end of the coop to the other, and grabbing on to the netting at times. They have also become aggressive when I enter the run. Egg production has almost completely stopped and eggs are getting lighter in color.
I do not know what to do. Are they sick?
 
Sounds to me like they are just stressed by the change. I have a couple Speckled Sussex that will fly at the chicken wire when I keep them in the run all day. You might try giving them some entertaining toys (treat balls, mirrors, chicken swings, things to climb, etc.) to help alleviate the boredom. I get better production out of my birds when they free range but any stress or major changes in the coop or routine will slow or even halt laying in my experience. It will pick back up once they adjust.
 
Do you mean the egg yolks are lighter in color? That happens to me when my girls don't get out as much as well. It's normal but I don't know why. Maybe someone else will have answers to that specifically.
 

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